Walk for ten minutes in pretty much any direction, and you'll see a stand advertising tickets for tour buses. The tickets will set you back on average £30 per person, but they're valid for 24 hours and the majority are "hop-on-hop-off- services. The routes are designed to go by every single tourist attraction (Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Tower Bridge etc.) so you hop on the bus wherever you want, hop off it when you reach an attraction you'd like to see, and hop back on the next bus to come past (hence the "hop-on-hop-off") Some of the buses have audio guides and tell you the history of London. They're great.

We visited the Globe for the second time and despite the heat and less than comfy seats, we thoroughly enjoyed the play which was magnificently acted. We noticed an actor from one of our favorite PBS shows was in the cast so it was great to see him in another role.

Always! If you have the time or actually the type to look for this kind of things, you can find treasured little shops in small side streets and other kind of shopping at the local markets like Borough Market.

If you've even heard of Dickens, Chaucer, Shakespeare, the royal family, Churchill, the world wars - just walking along the streets they walked on is enough to make them and their experiences jump out at you. The fact that most of the tourist attractions' tours (eg: Royal Albert Hall, Churchill War Rooms, Kensington Palace, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, London Bridge Experience, Westminster Abbey) are all accompanied by audio and include re-enactments mean that your completely drawn in to the experience.

The people I talked to on a whim in a pub! It's one of the friendliest place to meet people and very casual. And no, not everyone is trying to pick up everyone. Of course, that also happens but it's quite entertaining since they are mostly quite polite once you get used to them.

They have monthly offers and special events that no guidebooks can ever cover for you. Just take your chance and check them out. There might be more than a world of wonder waiting for you and you might discover someone new you might really enjoy.

read a little about where your going...find out opening times/advanced booking/tickets etc...especially during off peak times of the year.....plan your visit and make sure you plan a safe route to and from your hotel...get a map or use you telephone or other devices for mapping a route!...leave i plenty time to make the most of your time.

Piccadilly Circus has a variety of restaurants to choose from. We were at an Italian Restaurant & were seated & served quickly & friendly service. We ate at a bar & restaurant opposite Westminster Abbey & were seated quickly & the price was good and the food.

National Gallery should be your number one as the guidebook said and then start off into all the castles if you are into classical arts. The Tate Modern is one of the world's best abstract and creative art museum. They shouldn't be missed.

Tube is reasonably cheap with an Oyster card. If you're going to catch it more than a couple of times it's cheaper to buy an Oyster. Buses are the cheapest though, but avoid rush hour. If going north/south within central London on the tube don't catch the circle line. You don't have to change, but it's much slower. If you want to get a seat on the tube in central London make sure you're travelling away from the big main line stations (KGX, PAD etc.) in the early evening and towards them in the early morning as most people will be going in the opposite direction.

Wander off from the tourist zone onto the side streets, which could be literally, a couple streets away, where the locals all eat. It might seems hard at first but you will realized where are the tourists and where are the locals.

Ever since my teens, during the last 45 years I've come to London about 15 times and shall come again. Its one of my favourite cities, maybe even THE favourite one amongst Paris, New York, Rome, Barcelone, San Francisco, Hamburg, Vienna or Munich, where I was born. I feel at home there and it has always been like that... nothing is very difficult or hard to achieve..... And if you like history or modern technology, its all there, everywhere, even if you don't have much money to spend. From a German perspective food is cheap and tickets are expensive and people are ever so friendly and relaxed. This was the first time I came in winter, so there were hardly any flowers and the many parks were barren - but there are lots of light shows and temperatures are moderate. Anyway you spend a lot of time on trains, because the city is so BIG. I will surely be back for more, and rent a bicycle and tour the parks again....

London is nothing like any other classic city trip experiences. It is very unique as it offers a blend of both contemporary and historic sites and many different kinds of experiences (lots of professional services available searchable on site and online e.g. river cruises, bus tours, underground experiences etc.). Being the home of the greatest living monarchy, London contains many of the greatest castles or palaces such as Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, Tower of London and Windsor Castle, which are all very well-maintained. London is also famous for many sorts of entertainment e.g. concerts, football matches, theater, night life, shopping etc. Its museums, cathedrals and gardens/parks are also must-sees. London Eye especially goes without saying (it was an amazing experience; I would suggest to go at sunset). UK is a very much civilized country with relatively nice services and people (British are generally very polite and quite helpful people) as well as developed public systems and facilities. London is generally a safe and tourist-friendly place (but still, avoid dodgy areas). The only major downside for me is that Central London is forever very crowded with tourists anytime during the year. I recommend approximately 6 full days in and around London.

London has an enormous amount of green space. We were located in the Westminster district near Buckingham Palace and there was so much to enjoy just by walking through St. James Park. A stroll to the Thames brings you to the heart of the city. So much to see. An incredible city and the people are great. Don't miss Trafalgar Square.

London has a great number of large parks right in the heart of the city and littered all over the outer areas of downtown area. Try a few parks, they all have their own feel and it's a wonderful thing.

Check out all areas, don't use big chain names. Brixton has a great selection of cuisine from all over the world, and much better priced than central London. Don't judge restaurants by their appearance, look at the clientele, if it's busy then it's good.

Plan your days and figure out which routes are the best combination of public transport and walking to allow to explore the city while making the best use pf your time. Places like Leicester Square you can leave for the evenings when most other places have shut (eg: tourist attractions and Covent Garden and Portobello St. markets)

They are always rushing about! London is a hectic place but when you are seated at a cafe window, or on the tube observing, it's fun to watch the London crowd in their day-to-day routines. You see all types, all fashions, all ages - the whole world seems to be passing through.